Workouts get smart, streamlined with tech-personalized routines

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When 55-year-old Connie Antoniou visits her fitness studio, the leg press knows her name.

“The machines are programmed for my body so they take the guesswork out and I’m not worried I’ll injure myself,” said Antoniou, an Illinois realtor. “The traditional approach didn’t work for me. It just took too long.”

An increasing number of gyms are using high-tech exercise equipment that can prompt, respond and adapt to individuals in what fitness experts say may signal a future that frees clients from trying to gauge how fast, how hard or how long to work out.

Now her trainer at The Exercise Coach fitness studio punches a code into the fitness machine, her name pops up on a screen, and a session tailored to her personal goals and strengths begins.

Antoniou said because of the workout she is stronger and has improved her golf game with just two 20 minute sessions per week.

The Exercise Coach, a Chicago-based firm that has 30 franchises nationally, is among the gyms and fitness studios turning to responsive machines to improve workouts.

“The paradigm is shifting to workouts that are briefer, more challenging, more intense, and less frequent,” said Bryan Cygan, the founder and chief executive of The Exercise Coach.

He cited research published in the journal "Preventive Medicine" showing virtually all benefits of resistance training are likely to be obtained in two 15- to 20-minute training sessions a week.
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